The present invention relates to a device for testing a gas turbine engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ice-processing device that may be used to certify the engine, or a component of the engine.
Before an aircraft gas turbine engine is placed into service, the engine must be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (AA). Some certifications, such as an airbleed certification, requires the engine to continue normal operation while ingesting a certain amount of ice particles of a particular size and velocity. The FAA typically preapproves the amount of ice that a gas turbine engine should move (or “bleed”) away from itself, which is specified by the engine manufacturer. In conventional methods of certifying a gas turbine engine, the engine is subjected to a stream of ice particles that simulate a hailstorm. The testing is typically performed in a large work area, where a machine discharges large quantities of standard-size ice particles toward a full-size, working engine.
If the engine fails the certification test, it is difficult for an operator to visually inspect the engine components in order to determine why the engine failed the test because the entire engine is subjected to the stream of ice particles. For example, if the engine failed because of ice build-up in a certain component, the operator may not be able to disassemble the gas turbine engine and visually inspect the individual components before the ice melts.